The present invention pertains to food production and, more particularly, to separating food products from upon a conveyor belt.
During food production, it is common for food products to be transported using a conveyor belt. Depending on the type of food product being produced and the point at which the food products are placed on the conveyor belt, the food products may tend to stick to the conveyor belt. One way to address this problem is to use a stationary wire located directly above the conveyor belt. As the food products travel along the conveyor belt, the food products pass over the wire. This temporarily separates the food products from the conveyor belt and is typically sufficient to prevent the food products from sticking to the conveyor belt. However, there are problems with this arrangement. Food product tends to build up on the wire. As the buildup increases, the wire is lifted from the conveyor belt, which causes the wire actually to cut through the food products traveling along the conveyor belt instead of separating the food products from the conveyor belt. Also, the wire is prone to breakage. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the wire is not serviceable without production stoppage.
In view of the above, there is a need in the art for a way to separate food products from a conveyor belt while minimizing food product buildup on the separator and ensuring that the separator can be easily serviced, preferably without production stoppage.